1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for automatically or semi-automatically adjusting a chassis of a vehicle and to a device for carrying out such a method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Acceleration sensors have been used throughout the vehicle manufacture industry for many years, for example to trigger air bags or within the scope of the electronic stability program (ESP). The measuring principle of an acceleration sensor is based on the known relationship between acceleration and force. A mass that is subject to a certain acceleration reacts with an inertial force to the body that applies the acceleration to the mass. By measuring the force acting between the mass and the body, the acceleration can be inferred in accordance with this relationship. By combining three acceleration sensors that are offset with respect to one another by 90° and that each respond only to forces in a spatial direction, it is possible to measure accelerations in each of these directions.
The prior art also has devices for detecting physical roadway properties, for example a driver assistance camera is arranged behind the front windshield of the vehicle and can be used for various driver assistance functions. The roadway boundaries are detected optically and permit conclusions to be drawn about the profile of the roadway and therefore constitute an important input parameter for functions such as the so-called lane departure warning system (LDW) or even an active lane keeping support system (LKS).
It also has been proposed in certain cases to collect vehicle data and make it available by a server. For example, DE 10 2007 042 877 A1 discloses a motor vehicle having a detection device for detecting a physical roadway property of the roadway that is traveled on by the motor vehicle. A position-determining device determines the position of the motor vehicle, a transmitter transmits roadway-property position data objects and a computer device is configured so that a detected roadway property and the corresponding position are converted into a roadway-property position data object. The roadway-property position data object is transmitted by the transmitter device.
On the other hand, the prior art does not comprise a comprehensive method that assists the driver in selecting the optimum chassis adjustment by making use of such “swarm” data.
The invention has been produced against the background of the prior art described above, and an object of the invention is to provide an automatic or semi-automatic method for adjusting a chassis, and a corresponding device.